. . . owns? This would go along way towards explaining the unfathomable California $15 per hour minimum wage!

Mark Perry has an occasional and repeating column about U-Haul truck rental rate between various locations. The difference points out the volume of people moving from one location to another. These figures are from Mark's May 1, 2014 post:

Ouch! More than double the price. It seems even then they were breaking down the door to get out of Cali! I would suggest that after the minimum wage implementation, these numbers will simply continue to rise along with the minimum wage rate steps. The lower class has no options in California but welfare or move. The middle class in California has few other options but to leave. They cannot afford the housing prices in the wealthy coastal enclaves, and there are very few good paying jobs in the housing affordable areas of the California. In the end, they are forced to either commute very long distances, or leave. I don't know where the breaking point is but it will happen. It did in Sweden.

Norberg offers Californians a piece of sage advice when he notes that Sweden built its wealth during an era when it followed free trade, and free market principles, and it became the 4th richest nation in the world. After that the Swedes adopted a rich welfare safety net, and promptly dropped to 14 wealthiest nation. They are in the midst now of reforming their welfare state.

It might be prudent for states like California with an overly rich safety net, which are entering economic decline induced by welfare spasm, to look at what Sweden has done, how it reformed its welfare state, and then create a plan to emulate the best of the Swedish reform model.

I amuse myself. California will do nothing of the kind. It will slowly strangle itself with bad ideas until it is forced to reform. Sigh!

I hope Governor Moonbeams U-Haul stock holding pay off, at least he will have that.